New Hampshire Freemason News

New Hampshire Masons to Open Doors to Public
Submitted by Steve Welch 10-9-15

Freemasons locally and around the Granite State will open their Lodge doors
to the general public, Saturday, October 17th, giving visitors a firsthand
look into the mysteries of the world's oldest, largest and most talked about
fraternity.

Master Masons representing 63 Lodges from Portsmouth to Colebrook will be on
hand from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. to greet all comers, discuss the history
of
Freemasonry, answer questions and give guided tours to explain the
significance of Lodge furniture, ornaments, jewels and working tools used in
private Masonic ceremonies. The charitable aspects of Freemasonry will also
be addressed, but not the fraternity's deepest secrets, which only members
can know and share.

Members hope the open and congenial atmosphere of the Fall Open House will
help dispel rumors, misinformation and fanciful ideas that have dogged
Freemasonry for decades and are perpetuated in media by the success of books
and movies like DaVinci Code and The Lost Symbol.

Despite its tantalizing mythos as a secret cult, Freemasonry is a
family-oriented, community-centered service organization that seeks to
improve the quality of men's lives as it promotes social well-being through
its charitable programs and civic-minded members, according to Most
Worshipful John F. Gordon, Grand Master of New Hampshire's 5,800 Masons.

"The people hosting this event are the people of our communities," Gordon
said. "We live, work and play like everyone else, share the same concerns
as everyone else, share the same hopes for our kids as everyone else and
want what's best for our communities, just like everyone else," Gordon said.

"Our times demand that people have a chance to see for themselves what's
behind our closed doors and to get a sense of the genuine passion Masons
share for the social and spiritual values they embrace."

All are welcome and encouraged to visit a Lodge near them for an insider's
look at the world's largest and oldest fraternity. While Masons are
forbidden to overtly solicit candidate members, the fraternity is open to
qualified men at least 18 who are deemed to be of good character, believe in
a single deity and desire to become even better men.

Freemasons have been active in their communities for centuries, living in
accordance with the Masonic principles of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth.

Freemasonry has existed in New Hampshire since 1735, and many of the state's
leading have been Freemasons.

The fraternity's charitable activities are many and varied: the Shrine
Hospitals for Children, support of medical research, scholarships, programs
for child identification and combating drug abuse, the Scottish Rite
Learning Centers, and quiet, local charity. Freemasons are committed to
helping those who are less fortunate, and in the process hope to build a
better, safer and happier world.

Freemasonry traces its official history to the formation of the Grand Lodge
of England in 1717, but is generally regarded to have evolved from the
cathedral builders of the 1400's and their proprietary system of stone mason
guilds.

Some writers maintain that Freemasonry's roots as a speculative, or symbolic
craft, reach back even to the construction of King Solomon's Temple in
Jerusalem and beyond, although historians have not convincingly documented
this.

While it has been labeled a "secret society", an anti-religious cult, and an
organization bent on controlling minds, Freemasonry is a generally well
regarded organization of men who by their own free wills choose to study and
practice the Masonic system of social and moral virtues veiled in allegory
and illustrated with symbols.

Certain aspects of its Lodge ceremonies are considered proprietary and not
discussed publically, but are hardly secret when one considers that
virtually the entire canon of Masonic ritual is published to and available
from internet sources.

Masonic membership is predicated on an avowed belief in a single unifying
God, although it promotes no particular religious points of view, offers no
plans for salvation and strictly forbids discussions of religion and
politics during its official gatherings.

"Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world.
For, indeed, that’s all who ever have."
~ Margaret Mead ~

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